ISW

Drained Although I've not done much anything to the layout, this hasn't stopped me going to various 'swap meets' nearby. Here's something I picked up at a Model Bus fair in Worksop recently: While I'm working on the Overbridge, I'll get some of them installed. ===================================== While at the Model Bus fair I made a lot of enquiries about any models of East Staffordshire District Council (ESDC) buses that were prevalent in Burton during the later 1970s. No one has made a suitable model. I enquired about Daimler CVG6 with Massey bodywork, that were used by Burton Corporation (to predecessors to ESDC) and which I used to get to school. No one has made a suitable model. No wonder I haven't seen/found said models over the last 6-years of looking! Ian

Meanwhile back at the Overbridge ... Yes, it's been a while since I posted about the layout. Nothing has happened in the intervening time except for me 'correcting' a baseboard connection on the Upper Level. I found that one side of the connection was ~9mm too low. Me thinks I must have mis-measured something to the top/bottom of a baseboard, as the Upper Level baseboards are 9mm thick! Suspicious ... Anyway that baseboard connection was immediately adjacent to the Overbridge building, which I was already having problems getting 'level' last time. Note the rather obvious 'gap' on the near left-hand side: However, despite lifting the baseboard 9mm in this area, the gap wouldn't go away. It was therefore onto Plan B; getting out the electric planer. With the Overbridge turned upside-down (on blocks to avoid damaging the walls) I attacked the lower edge of the support walls with the planer, with it set on 0.25mm (lowest setting). I was being careful not to remove too much material. After about 4 attempts, toing and froing the Overbridge onto and off the layout in between, I had the Overbridge correctly sat on the baseboard: You can see the gap has disappeared on this close up. I took off about 4mm tapering to zero: With that little 'issue' resolved I can finally return to the problem (from last May!) of installing the support columns to the Overbridge between the tracks. Ian

I don't know if he 'vapes', but blowing the 'smoke' across the layout could also achieve a suitable fog/mist effect for photos. Ian

Err, isn't that the idea? :-) Ian

That sound really interesting ... Hope you'll publish your research and test results. Ian

Mine came off AliExpress, and were consequently much cheaper (~£2 each). The Batch I have details for came from 'Sourcing Map' in Hong Kong back in 2017. I've order twice more since from AliExpress with different suppliers without problem. However, Strathpeffer does provide a nifty 3D printed 'spacer' to properly install the CD-ROM motor, whereas I used 'eyeball alignment' and hot melt glue! Don't forget that you also need to purchase the 8-tooth plastic cog to fit on the CD-ROM motor. Ian

When I started making my very first buildings in ~2015, I was living in Malaysia where the sunshine is quite harsh (and the humidity rather high!). I can't remember where the impetuous came from to 'waterproof' the models, but I recall being concerned that the inkjet paper & ink was prone to easy damage by water. As I already had some simple / cheap waterproof spray, that's what I used (after a quick test ...) on the models I built. Those original models have been sitting on a window shelf (here in the UK) for the past 6-years and are still perfectly okay. They were printed on a Canon inkjet (MX-868) using Canon inks. That 'may' be relevant, but I've no proof (or otherwise). Ian

Did you spray the completed models with a 'waterproofing' spray (the one you use on umbrellas, coats, etc)? That's what I usually do, so I'm wondering if that helps in these (unusual ...) circumstances. I'd have though that the waterproof 'layer' would prevent the creatures saliva from damaging the model? Ian

Have you considered replacing the 3-pole with a CD-ROM motor instead? There are plenty of YouTube tutorials (& RMWeb postings) on the subject, and the 'tricks' you need to know. I've done quite a few myself (both Hornby & Lima) and have been pleased with the smooth (& slow) running results. Ian

I trust you are keeping those rails 'spotless' or have some other mechanism / access for the 'hand of God' to help out in those odd cases of train stall? Ian

I kept it simple, and cheap, by using my existing inkjet printer. I created a drawing with all the labels I'd need (plus some 'extras') [1] and printed in on A4 copy paper. Then I applied double-sided tape to the back (mine is 2" wide, commonly found at car boots ...) and just cut out the labels. [1] - sample shown below: They have proven to be sufficiently robust and haven't faded or detached themselves. Ian

I was new to the hobby 5-years ago, although I'd bought a lot of rolling stock back in 1980/81 that was still in boxes. Here's what I did: Work up, step-by-step. I started by buying a (new) NCE PowerCAB as my controller and some simple decoders from Hattons. I hard wired an old Lima Deltic to DCC and laid a simple oval of track on the floor. It was great to see the loco moving under DCC power. My next 'step' was to build a simple crossover to test out the MegaPoints Controllers I planned to use to operate the turnouts. Many lessons were learnt ... Make a plan. I drew up my entire layout design before I built anything (I used the 3rdPlanIt software for the track layout, SketchUp for the baseboards, and Xara Designer Pro X10 for overall/schematics). This allows you to make mistakes without any loss of time or money. You get to 'build' the layout in drawings, tweaking where necessary, before you commit to spending any cash. Test as you go. When I got around to building my layout I used a simple electrical tester to check for power, continuity, and an absence of short-circuits on each 'part / element' as I built it (I use several separate baseboards bolted together, so could test each one individually). Yes, I made some mistakes. I burnt out a decoder because I'd added more pickups to a loco, but these 'jammed' the motor wheels and, as a result, the motor drew too much current. Oops. I also burnt out a MegaPoints 12servo board because I put 12v DC onto the network cable! However, overall things went 'as they should'. I've done just about everything 'on the cheap', with all my locos (except my old Lima ones from 1980) bought secondhand off TheBay or from SwapMeets and train fairs. All my decoders are Hattons or Rails 'own brand'. What I did buy 'new' was the DCC controller, all the track, and the MegaPoints Controller stuff. All the turnouts are operated by cheap servos and frog polarity is done by a cheap microswitch. Hope this helps. Ian

Yep, that's what I did. I have 2 on my Lower Level and 6 on the Upper Level, as shown below: They are all MERG kits, which I had to build from a kit of parts. They are very useful and let me know (buzzer) when I cause a short, but allows the 'rest' of the layout to keep operating. The photo may look complicated, but it's just 6 DCC power districts, each one with its own 'self-resetting' circuit breaker. Ian

Here's what my 3-way (Peco Code-100) turnouts look like when wired up: Top: Underside: The Green wire goes to the microswitch on the outer switch blades, with the Orange one going to the inner switch blades. The Red and black wires are track power feeds. I have two 3-ways wired this way and both are working nicely. Hope this helps. Ian

That last photo is one I doo like a lot. Very 'realistic'. Have you tried 'focus stacking' to get both the near and far elements in focus? Ian

For those of you in the North-East of England, Boyes (department store) currently have all their Vallejo paints reduced from £2.55 to only £1.25. Ian

Paul, Unfortunately, that's the only interior photo I took during the visit to the signalbox. It was really dark in the 'box and not conducive to hand-held SLR photography! Although, thinking about it, the camera might have been my old Olympus RC-35, not SLR. Either way, it was too dark to risk lots of wasted film and/or blurred photos. What I can do is drop you a PM with a full-res version (the one I posted was reduced to ~1080 pix wide), so that you might be able to make out some more details. Ian

Paul, Thanks to your 'panel' modelling, I now recognise some of the bits of the Lime Street signalbox panel in my photo (below) from 1978: Ian

Sometimes I wish I'd waited for a 'later' Cricut / Cameo model that 'can' cut styrene. The current crop of models are much stronger. However, I bought mine ~5-years ago (err, it was on offer!) and it sat unused for ~4-years! I'm sure I'd be using styrene (instead of cardboard) if I could get the cutter to cut it easily. That is good value. The stuff I bought from local model shops was much more expensive. I do still use it, but not for buildings. Goodness me yes. I have the 'advantage' that I've been a 'cad' user for over 25-years, and so am used to drawing up designs before they get made. I have real admiration for those people who can make buildings without a complete design and/or automatic cutting machines. Ian

I found myself in exactly the same position a few years back, and I bought a Cricut cutter. However, instead of cutting styrene (which my Cricut did struggle with) I decided to use cereal packet cardboard instead. It's much cheaper! Then, I cut out the trusses (etc) in completed 'assembled' pieces to save gluing the individual elements together, and ensure cleaner joints. To get the required thickness(es) I simply glued several layers together using cheap clear PVA glue. These were then painted in the appropriate colours. Here are the cereal packet 'bit's I cut out for my station forecourt canopy (some are already painted). Note the zig-zag joint I used to join 2-pieces of single-layer card together to get a good alignment and bond. This was necessary to get the required length that, otherwise, my Cricut could not cut. I couldn't cut the full length of the support truss either, so the layers were arranged such that the butt-joints didn't coincide: Once the 'bit's were assembled, I had the following components: That were glued together, again with clear PVA, to get the main canopy parts: Once installed on the layout it looks like this: I hope the above helps to show that a 'cutter' and cardboard can be effectively used to create 'passible' models of buildings (yes, the main station building is all cereal packet cardboard, painted and/or with inkjet printed textures applied). Ian

Although my layout has 2-levels (with 2 separate ramps) I kept clear of any lifting sections. However, if I had to use any lifting sections I'd do them separately. I can image getting the geometry / fit of just one being hard, so a twin would be beyond my skills. Plus, as @Ray H points out, with separate lifting sections, you can operate one while the other is out-of-use. I think the only endearing 'feature' of a twin lift out section is that it'd 'look' cool. But then, why use hinges at all? What's wrong with a simple 'lift out' section that self-aligns (with dowels or other means, that include electrical connections) at each end, and no hinges to 'hide' in the scenery? In such an arrangement, remember to have the last ~500mm of track either side of the 'lift out' electrically powered 'with' the lift out section. That way, it's harder (?) to run a train into the abyss when the lift out has been removed! The only disadvantage I see is the necessity of somewhere (safe ...) to put the lift out when it's removed. Ian

Thanks, I really enjoyed that. The sight of a Class 304 on a curved approach to a station instantly transported me to Manchester Piccadilly (Platforms 13&14) in the late 1970s (although that would've been a 4-car ...). I hope the sound files includes the distinctive 'ticking' of the air compressor (?). Ian

Are you planning a 3-car or the original 4-car arrangement? I have an 'affection' for the 4-car, it being very common around Birmingham New Street and Lichfield Trent Valley back in my trainspotting days of the 1970s. It was also ubiquitous at Moseley Hill (Liverpool) on the line out to Crewe while I was at the University. Ian

Surely not with those huge skylights? However, I do take your point. I've see other roofs (eg: National Trust properties and some churches from the same period) that use a similar construction. Seems that roof 'designs' were much-of-a-muchness in the 19th Century. I'd guess the station designer simply followed 'common' practice for that time. Ian

Pete, Indeed. I designed (?) my power supply droppers to the tracks/turnouts with this in mind from the beginning. I generally don't bother with droppers to short lengths of track immediately adjacent to turnouts as a result (I know, many will disagree with this theory ...). I therefore made these little veroboards for each turnout (some for more than one turnout) which take the power feed and 'distribute' it to the turnout, while also creating the path/feed for the power to the frog (via a microswitch): These often became conflagulated (?) with simple track feeds as well, as can be seen in the selection below for one of my Upper Level baseboards: Simple but effective. Ian